Category Archives: Recruitment

5 Tips For The First Working Day

Starting a new work in a new environment and with new faces, can be nerve wracking. But the changes can also be exciting, especially when you know how to tackle new challenges and learn more skills. 

Plan the day 

The first and most simple tip, is to make sure to plan the day. To avoid a stressful and frustrating morning, you can plan your outfit, the night before the first working day. It is also a good idea to check the route for your workplace and find out how to get there and how long it takes depending on the traffic. Perhaps you can drive earlier from home, which gives you a little extra time if there are traffic jams and you avoid getting stressed. In this way you are sure to arrive to work in time with a peaceful mindset. 

Do not come to work empty-handed 

If you haven’t been giving any instructions for the first working day, it is always a good idea to bring your own computer. Even if the company will give you a work computer, you never know if it has been delivered for the first working day. It is also a good idea to bring a book to write down notes and any documents about the company or employee manuals you have received from the company. 

Practice how to introduce yourself

One of the most important things to practice for the first working day, is how to introduce yourself. On the first working day, you will meet and talk to your new colleagues, and you will probably be asked a lot of questions. A good work environment between colleagues is very important, therefor it is essential to make a good first impression. With a little preparation, you are ready to answer all the questions your new and curious colleagues ask during the day. 

Listen and ask questions

When starting the first working day, it is important to listen and learn from your colleagues. You most likely don’t know everything about the company, the systems, and the processes, which is why you must be humble, instead of having a “I know everything” attitude. Pay extra attention and write important information in your notebook. Ask questions about everything from the system and tools to colleagues’ projects and experiences. 

Be yourself

You made it through the recruitment process by being yourself, so why start being a different person now? It is normal to be nervous the first working day, but do not doubt yourself. Remember that they chose you for a reason and you are the right person for the job. Therefor the last tip for the first working day is to be yourself when you talk and interact with your new colleagues. Be yourself. Everyone else is already taken.

5 Ways To Attract And Retain Good Employees

The recipe to attract and retain good employees is simple. Your future employees and current employees needs to be happy and motivated. Employees who are happy and motivated with their jobs stay longer in companies and they are the key to a healthy and successful company. 

Here are 5 ways to attract and retain good employees. 

1. Create and sustain a culture of recognition 

When looking at ways to attract and retain good employees, a culture of recognition can be a considerable game changer. Such a culture engages and empowers employees, making them feel like the work they do has a meaning and purpose. But how do you create a culture that will make your employees eager to work in your company. The short answer is employee recognition. Focus on recognizing your employees and give them positive feedback. Most people respond positively to recognition, and it can provide them with renewed energy. Many people work even harder when their efforts are recognized by their manager, since they feel valued in the company. It gives the employers motivated and happy employees who think positively about their manager and the workplace. 

2. Make feedback a keystone of your culture

Creating an environment in which honest, open, and two-way feedback is supported and embraced is one of the most effective ways to cultivate a workplace culture that attract and retain good employees. Constructive feedback is one of the best things a manager can give to their employees. When feedback is delivered properly it can strengthen positive behavior and ensure a strong culture in your team. Feedback also involves in discussing growth opportunities. At companies where managers discuss growth opportunities with employees, the impact of retention is increasing. Employees consider growth as a core value and having opportunities for development may be a deciding factor in whether they will choose employment in your company. 

3. Give responsibility and trust your employees

Responsibility gives motivated employees. Most people want to develop professionally. It can be through new work assignments, new areas of responsibility or courses and certifications. Many people see promotion as an important factor for professional development and motivation. One thing is certain. The employers must create an environment where employees can have more responsibility and the professional motivation must be supported to keep efficient employees.  Responsibility and development is key if you are looking for ways to attract and retain good employees. If there are no clear signs of development within the company, the employees will be more likely to look for new opportunities.

4. Offer a flexible schedule 

A flexible schedule will allow an employee to work hours that may not correspond with normal working hours. Not all good employees will have the availability to work standard hours. There might be circumstances that cause conflicts with a standard work schedule. Therefore, having the possibility to be flexible will help attract and retain good employees. A flexible work schedule can include flexible work hours, compressed workweek, job sharing and allowing employees to work remotely. 

5. Treat your employees fairly 

Employees are the greatest assets in a company. If a company want to attract and retain good employees, the company should treat them well. When an employee knows that their company cares about them, they may be more willing to take care about the company. Motivational variables are different for each person, which is why it is important for the employer to understand what motivates each employee. Once the employer understands the motivational variables of their employees, they can start to create more retention benefits within the company. By making sure that you treat your employees fairly and equally based on their qualifications and efforts, you can improve employee satisfaction and retention. 

How To Find The Best Candidate For Your Company

At Scancruit, we value people and this underpins everything that we do. We believe that the right people make the difference between success and failure. Our decision is based on research and knowledge. We go the extra mile to understand our clients’ values. We focus on how to find the best candidate for your company. 

1. Do your research about the candidate 

When doing a job interview you can get a good impression of the candidate and ask questions about their experience. But the candidate might look perfect for the role on paper and did great to the job interview. But is the candidates really who they pretend to be? To be sure that you find the right candidate to join your team and to grow your company. It is important to secure references from others who have previously worked with the potential new employee. 

2. Ask the candidate to resolve one or more tasks 

When focusing on how to find the best candidate for your company, it is a great idea to create one or more tasks relevant to the job. In this way the candidates get a chance to show their skills and it is a great way for the company and the candidates to see if they are suitable for the role. It takes time to create a good task, but it is a good investment. 

3. Be sure to test the candidates 

Thirdly it is a good idea to do a personality test, to get a better understanding about the candidates’ personality and get a better idea of how they will fit into the company. It reveals the candidate’s general behavior and action patterns. Though it is important to mention that the personality test is an additional tool to use, and your decision should be based on other factors as well. 

4. Let your team meet the candidates

The dynamic in the team is crucial when finding a new candidate. It is a good idea to let the most relevant team members meet the potential candidate, to get an idea how the future candidate will fit into the team and the values of the company. To ensure that you take all the above factors into consideration, you can work with a recruitment company. They will make sure to match your companies’ values with the new candidate.  

4 Mistakes To Avoid When Hiring


1. You skip the preparation

Perhaps your company is growing or one of your employees have resigned and you suddenly need to find a skilled replacement. Maybe you can already post the job description this afternoon if you just create one quickly or reuse an old job description? But it is right here you must take a step back and take yourself time to find the right candidate. Because it requires a longer process to hire the right employee.

It is important to make a thorough job analysis and a competency profile, so you know exactly what person you are looking for to join your team. In the job description you must describe what the job is about and what competencies the position requires. When the job description is accurate, it also becomes much easier to find the right person for the position. 

2. You do not include relevant employees 

When looking for a new employee, it is important to include relevant employees in the decision making. They might not have the final decision, but they can be a great support when trying to find the right fit for the team. Perhaps the employees have some important requirements for the candidates’ personal profile and working profile which you have not taken into consideration. 

Perhaps the current employees can be helpful when it comes to creating the right job description and when creating the job advertisement itself. The job advertisement can pose many challenges that require time and careful consideration, both in relation to the template and where the job advertisement shall be posted. 

3. You talk more than you listen

Now you have finally received a lot of applications and have decided which candidates who are suitable for your company. You have also prepared a lot of questions, that you are looking forward to asking the different candidates for the job interviews. On one hand it is good to be prepared, but on the other hand it would be wise to just be quiet. 

One of the many mistakes you should avoid when hiring is to talk too much, which is a mistake too many interviewers make. Your primary role is instead to listen carefully and ask questions to what the candidate has to say. 

4. You do not check references

The last point of the 4 mistakes to avoid when hiring, is to avoid to not check the references. Perhaps the candidate looks perfect for the role on paper, and she did great to the job interview. But is she really who she pretends to be? To be sure that you find the right candidate to join your team and to grow your company, it is important to secure references from others who have previously worked with the potential new employee. 

When contacting the reference person, you should only ask questions that have a significant impact on the applicant’s ability to hold the current position. It could also be an idea to work with a recruitment agency, who can help you verify the specific candidate or help you through the entire recruitment process, so that you ensure that you find the right candidate for your company. 

Benefits of Working With A Headhunter

If you decide to meet with a headhunter and hear more about the job offer, you can be sure that it will remain between the two of you. The headhunter avoids revealing any confidential information. 

What does it mean?

In headhunting, it is not yourself who actively sends an application related to a job opening. The headhunter will contact you if they find you interesting for a specific position. 

The headhunter is able to contact a candidate even though the candidate is not looking to change job. Perhaps they want to know more about your competencies. A reason for this could be to find out if you are suitable, for a specific role or to know if you want to change job. 

If you have been talking with a headhunter, it is often possible for you to upload your CV to their database. As a result, if they find another position that could be interesting for you, they will contact you again.

How will the headhunter notice me?

Visibility is crucial for whether a headhunter will find you. There are several things you can do to get visible.

LinkedIn is a channel that many use to find qualified candidates for a specific position. If you have a LinkedIn profile, it is important that you have updated your work experience, education and skillset. For example, it is good for visibility if you are making LinkedIn posts and commenting on other people’s activities.

Some recruitment agencies, have the option of putting your resume in their database. But it is far from all headhunters that you can find yourself. Often this is only possible if they have already contacted you themselves.

How to Get A Better Physical and Mental Work Environment

But what characterizes a good working environment? And what can you do yourself to fix a bad work environment?

You can get answers to this here, where you can find out which signs you need to keep an eye on in your workplace and what you can do yourself to create a better working environment.

5 signs of a poor working environment:

  • There are many sick leaves at your workplace
  • There is no community between colleagues
  • There is a large turnover of employees 
  • You experience that the needs of the employees are not taken into account
  • Management does not listen when problems are pointed out – both mental, physical and social

How to recognize a bad work environment?

A bad working environment can be seen both mentaly, physicaly and socialy. And no matter what creates the bad working environment, being a part of it can be hugely exhausting. It is harmful both for you as an employee and for you as a manager – because it becomes expensive in the long run when absence increases and efficiency decreases.

How do you recognize a bad work environment, and what can you do improve it?

A bad working environment can be anything from bullying to poor physical conditions. Overall, the work environment is conditioned by the relationships and conditions you encounter in your workplace. A badworking environment can therefore arise if the management does not listen to the employees, or if the office chair is outdated, so you get back pain. But a bad work environment is not a motivating work environment, and therefore it will ultimately also affect the management.

What should I do if I have a bad work environment?

If you come home from work every day and feel drained, depressed and completely out of energy, this is some of the many indications that it is time for changes to take place in your workplace. But it can be difficult to know where and how to change the bad work environment. 

If the work environment is bad due to social or psychological reasons, it can be difficult for one person to create a solution. If you experience problems such as stress, bullying or other factors that create an unpleasant atmosphere, it is the responsibility of the management and the workplace to ensure that the problems are rectified.

No two cases are alike, and whether it’s a single person or an entire group experiencing it, it’s important that the issue comes to light. Talk to your occupational health and safety representative if you have one. It is the responsibility of this person to take care of the mental as well as the physical work environment. Also talk to your colleagues about what you all can do to improve the work environment.

Luckily more and more workplaces are succeeding in incorporating movement and exercise in the workplace to create a better environment and happier employees.